(Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 14--REDLANDS -- With more and more people shopping online, Amazon.com Inc. announced Thursday it plans to open its fifth California distribution center here and its third in the Inland Empire.

The new 700,000-square-foot center is expected to bring as many as 500 new jobs to the area when it opens in October, in addition to the economic benefit of sales for surrounding business and tax revenue for the city of Redlands, where it will be based.

Amazon employees at the new Redlands center will pick, pack and ship large items, such TVs, to customers.

"We are proud to be hiring for more than 2,500 full-time jobs in California that offer wages 30 percent higher than traditional retail stores and include comprehensive benefits on day one, bonuses and stock awards," Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations, said in a statement. "We have found great talent in the state and we're excited to be growing quickly to serve our customers."
Other distribution centers opened in the state in the past two years include large warehouses in San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Patterson, and Tracy. The opening of the other new facilities, which represent 5 million square feet, helped create thousands of full-time jobs throughout California, officials said.

"I think this means that Redlands and the Inland Empire are open for business," said Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar. "This is a good example of a good company creating hundreds of jobs for our community, and wanting to locate here and have a continued presence in the region."
E-commerce's retail market has grown to about 10 percent, a huge increase from a decade ago. That figure is expected to grow even more, experts say.

"I think it will make it to 20 percent a lot quicker than 10 years," said Jay Prag, professor of economics at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, who also said he has owned Amazon stock for many years. "Maybe in three to four years."
Distribution center locations are going to grow throughout the country for quicker and more immediate shopping after a customer orders a good or goods online, said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of the Los Angeles-based firm Beacon Economics.

"(Online sales) are growing so much faster," Thornberg said. "Within a decade, it's going to be a significant share. I don't know if it will ever dominate traditional brick-and-mortar stores, which do have some value. People like the community aspect of it, and there are some products people want to be able to touch and try on. As a result of that, we'll never see it completely replaced by online shopping, but in general it will clearly take up more and more of a share."
The new Amazon facility will be at 2125 W. San Bernardino Ave., on the southwest corner of California Street and San Bernardino Avenue, north of the 10 Freeway. The warehouse property, owned by Clarion Partners, is being leased by Amazon is leasing, said Mike Nelson, economic development manager for Redlands.

"Certainly it's a great opportunity for local residents that are looking for job opportunities," Nelson said. "We're excited about it and we're looking forward to working with Amazon, helping them get their facility ready and operational."
For employment information, people may visit www.amazonfulfillmentcareers.com.